Guard for electric lamps



July 8, 1952 l. E. WRIGHT GUARD FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS Filed Feb. 18, 1949 INVEN TOR.

I. E. WRIGHT ATTORNEY Patented July 8, 1952 U N .I'TE D STATES BATE N T Fl-CE GUARD FOR ELECTRIC LAMPS "Ira E. Wright, Norfolk, Va. Application February 18, 1949,- Serial No. #1179 '6' Claims. (01. 240-102.)

v This .invention relates to illumination and moreparticularly to a support and protective guard for a lamp of the type commonly. employed with .an extension cordand referred to as a "Jftrouble lamp), and .is a continuation-in-part of my .co-pending application Serial No. 710,145, filed November 15, 1946, now abandoned.

Guards. and mounting devices for lamps of this, type have been .in use for many years by mechanics and others in industry .as well as in thehome. In the .past these have usually consisted of. a wire cage having.v an opening atone end for the reception of the .lamp socket. For certainkinds of work, cages of this type have been satisfactory, but for others, the protection afforded both to the .lampand to the user has been insuflicient. Furthermore, the construction of the cages has, been expensive because .oithe number of operations required in their production.

' In certain industrial situations it is .necessary toprovideillumination in the presence. of highly inflammable or explosive matter, including gases and volatile vapors of gasolene and the like. Withthe conventional lamp guard, the danger exists of a spark within the socket connection of the lamp, or in the event of the bulbs shattering, of the oxidationat high temperature of the lamp filaments, either of which .may set off a fire or explosion.

Frequently, a lamp. of this character is used to provide a large amount of illumination on a localized area and often an operator must have his face relatively close' to the lamp,':thus,presen-tingapersonal hazard if the bulb should be shattered.

Furthermore, lamps of this type are frequentlyused where they are subjected to steam, water, or other liquid or vapor from various sources, and unless some protection is provided the lamp is likely to become corroded, with the likelihood of alshort circuit, and its life materially shortened.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mount and lamp guard structure adapted to overcome the difiiculties presented above.

.A further object of the invention is the provision of a mountand lamp guard structure in which the socket and bulb are sealed Within a protective (housing in order to prevent the contact of the atmosphere. or vapors in thespace in which the lamp is to be used with the lamp or its electrical contacts.

A further object of the invention .is the provision of a llampsupportand guard'which is adapted to prevent the contact of moisture with thelamp onits socket. A still furtherv object .of the invention isjthe provision of a housing for a lamp together with a reflector, and .a guard for protecting the reflector, the housing, .the. lamp, and its component parts.

,These and .other objects of the. invention will be. apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an .elev-ationof the lamp guard; Fig.2, .asection on the line 2-2.-of Fig.: 1'; Fig. 3, a bottom view of the structure. shown in Fig. 1; and. 7 Fig.4, a top .view of the structure shown in Fig.1.

With-continued reference to theidrawingsya conventional lamp or:bulb. .IB is :shown .having a threaded contact portion ll received in a socket 12 to which lead wires 13 .are connected. The lamp and .its socket are enclosed in a -wafter and gas tight housing l4, comprising. a cylinder or cup member [5 having a length substantially that ofthe bulb HI and an end wall-.lt-whichr-is preferably curved to more nearly-conform to the contour of the bulb.

The cup -l5-may beef any suitable transparent or translucent material but a clear plastic :has been found to be particularly suitable. The' acup is provided at its other end witha lip or flanged portion It to which agasket or sealing-ring H is attached. An end closure member l BJor the cup consists of a substantially; flat disk $9 with a :fiange 20' at its outer periphery -and-an upstanding cylindrical portion or collar 12 l at its central portiomdefiningan aperture 22 forwthe reception of the socket l2. g The gasket 11 which is attached to the flange Itof the cup 15 on one of its sides .is attached at the other to the outer portion of therim-of the closure member 18, the overhanging flange 20 of the closure member abuttingthe peripheries ofzthe flange I6 on its inner surface. I A gasket member 23 isrpositioned 'b'etween the inner surface of the collar 2iand the socket; l2; suitable sealing means beingprov-idedito form a gas and water tight connection. Various .adhesives may be employed to' hold the-gaskets in place. 1"

A reflector 24 is provided for: the lamp and has a semi-cylindrical body portion 25 extending substantially the length of the cup 15; a reduced neck portion 26, and a collar or clamping-member 21 adapted to encircle the collar 2| iof'rtherend ing the lamp, its housing and the reflector against shock or impact and consists of a plurality of substantially helical convolutions of wire 3| forming a substantially cylindrical housing for the reflector 25 and sealed housing 14. The diameter of the coil is reduced at the neck portion 32 of the cage for adapting it to the reduced diameter of the socket collar and at the other end the last coil 32 of the cage is substantially at right angles to the axis of the coil.

For engaging and protecting the end [6 of the cup l5, a gate or clamping member 33 is provided and includes a pair of angular members 34 having end portions disposed at an angle to each other, the end portions 35 being connected by a strut 36 and having an upturned hook portion 31 adapted to clamp about the lower-l most coil 32' of the cage. The arms 35 converge at a slight angle and the arms 34 at a much greater angle, the extremity of the arms being provided with a loop 38 adapted to receive coil 32' for pivotal attachment of the gate 33 to the coil. After positioning the cage on the housing and reflector, the gate 33 is clamped shut, in which position the arms 34 and 35 resiliently urge the cup l against the gasket l 'l to more firmly secure the connection.

A hook member 39 is attached to the side of the 'coil 30 by a longitudinal portion 40 and has a loop portion 4| projecting outwardly from the body portion 40, V It will be apparent that the present invention includes a support and housing for a lamp, the housing protecting the lamp, including its socket from contact with the elements and the gas or atmosphere in the space in which the lamp is used, and protects the user from the hazard of flying fragments of the bulb in case of its fracture, and from the danger of the ignition of inflammable and explosive substances in the vicinity from the presence of the lamp. The structure includes a reflector and a resilient cagelike protective housing for the assembly. Although the components of the lamp guard assembly are designed to be used together, the housing, the reflector, and the coil-like structure may be used separately if desired.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the inventionwithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lamp assembly comprising a socket, a lamp engaged with the socket, and a housing for the lamp and socket, the housing comprising a non-porous, light transmitting cup, and an end closure member for the open end of the cup and having an upstanding collar receiving the socket; a reflector for the lamp comprising an elongated semi-cylindrical" member adapted to' partially encompass the housing and having a clamping member at one end for receiving the collar of the housing; and a cage-like housing comprising a plurality of substantially helically arranged convolutions of wire and having a convolution of reduced diameter at one end for receiving the collar and clamping member, and a convolution at the other end in a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of the housing, and a gate member pivotally attached to the latter convolution, said gate member having an end clamping portion and a body portion adapted to resiliently urge the. cup against the end closure member when the gate is in the closed position.

2. A guard for a lamp comprising a housing having a non-porous light transmitting cup and an end closure member for the open end of the cup, the end closure member having an upstanding collar adapted to receive a lamp socket; a reflector for the lamp comprising an elongated semi-cylindrical member adapted to partially encompass the housing and having a clamping member at one end for receiving the collar of the housing; and a cage-like housing comprising a plurality of substantially helically arranged convolutions of wire and having a convolution of reduced diameter at one end receiving the collar and clamping member, and a convolution at the other end in a plane substantially at right angles to thejaxis of the housing, and a gate member pivotally attached to the latter convolution, said gate member having an end clamping portion adapted to be resiliently clamped thereto, and a body portion adapted to resiliently urge the cup against the end closure member when'the gate is in the closed position.

3. A guard for a lamp comprising a housing having a non-porous light transmitting cup and an end closure member for the open end of the cup, the end closure member having an upstanding collar adapted to receive a lamp socket; a reflector for the lamp adapted to partially encompass the housing and having a, clamping member at one end for receiving the collar oi the housing; and a cage-like housing comprising a plurality of convolutions of wire, and a gate member pivotally attached to an end convolu tion, said gate member having an end clamping portion adapted to be resiliently clamped thereto, and a body portion adapted to resiliently urge the cup against the end closure member when the gate is in the closed position. 7

4. A guard for a lamp comprising a housing having a light transmitting cup and an end 010- sure member for the open end of the cup, the end closure member having an upstanding collar adapted to receive a lamp socket; a reflector for the lamp adapted to partially encompass the housing and having a clamping member at one end for receiving the collar of the housing; and, a cage-like housing secured to said end closure member and comprising a pluralityof convolu tions of wire substantially surrounding said cup and reflector. 4

5. In a portable lamp guard, a cage-like wire housing comprising a plurality of convolutions of a helix, and a shield for a lamp having a collar portion adapted to be clamped on aneIe'ctric lamp socket and an upturned ,fiange portion adapted to engage the lowermost convolution of said helix for anchorage thereto.

6. A guard for a portable electric lamp com-'- prising a cage-like wire housing wherein the housing comprises one continuous wire coil extending circumferentially about the lamp, a

shield for said lamp having a collar portion at one extremity adapted to be clamped on an electric lamp socket and about which the uppermost convolution of said coil is secured, and a looped flange portion at the other extremity adapted to engage the lowermost convolution of said coil to permit said coil to be anchored thereto.

IRA E. WRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number D. 150,527 781,391 5 943,792 1,711,993 2,096,604 2,286,891 2,389,089 10 Number France Apr. 28, 1931 

